Jeff Capel huffs into the microphone at the podium. He inhales deeply and shakes his head, shuffling in his seat. There's a grumble. He reaches for a bottle of water sitting an arm's length away, but he's not thirsty.
He just needs something to squeeze.
It's Capel's birthday, Feb. 12, on this cold, wet Wednesday night at Petersen Events Center, but there's no party. There's definitely no cake nor candles. His squad just lost — no, his Panthers were just destroyed by Clemson, 72-52, snapping a four-game ACC winning streak at home and sending them packing, tails tucked and spirits crushed.
Now, Capel's smiling at the stand. But nothing's funny. This is a smile born from disbelief.
"We should’ve learned from Nicholls State in November, the second game [of the year]," Capel was saying.
He's referring, of course, to his team's propensity for squandering momentum. Pitt opened its 2019-20 season with a massive win at home against Florida State (a team that is now ranked No. 8 in the nation, if you were curious) then lost to Nicholls State in Game 2. So when the Panthers beat Georgia Tech on Saturday to improve to 15-9 and to bump their ACC winning streak at home to four ... Capel could feel it.
Maybe he didn't want to admit it or embrace it, but he sensed lingering defeat.
“A little bit. I did [notice it]," Capel said. "We won Saturday and obviously it was a big win, a good win for us, and just the energy in practice wasn’t what it needs to be as we’re going forward. I thought we played tired. I thought we looked tired. This is the time of the season where you are tired, but we have to be able to push through.”
Yeah, they didn't exactly push through. Justin Champagnie led the team with 11 points, and Au'Diese Toney chipped in 10, but after that, it was all single digits for Pitt's scorers in this one. They shot just 31 percent (15 for 48) as a team, including 4 for 14 (29 percent) from three. Making matters worse, they were out-rebounded, 35-29, and they barely won the turnover battle — something they've dominated this year — 14-11.
"We gotta learn how to come off a win and be hungry for more," is how Champagnie put it.
And yet ... You gotta just take a look at the other side and tip your cap sometimes. Clemson came to play. They'd just lost three straight games, and they were hungry. They were motivated and out to prove something. Pitt wasn't. Pitt was content.
“This program hasn’t been successful," Capel began, kicking off a three-minute speech. "So I don’t get that. It’s something we try to preach all year long. And at some point, we have to figure it out. At some point, we have to figure out the things that are required to be really good. And that’s the goal for us: To be really good. Not for an individual to be really good. Not for a guy to get his numbers or anything but for us to be really good consistently ... It’s the middle of February ... And so at some point, you know, guys have to listen. They have to get over themselves. They have to understand the requirements that it takes to be really good, consistently good. Not good for a moment … We’re not there yet. We’ve taken some steps, and we’ve done some good things — I don’t want to disregard that — but we’re not there yet."
Want a visual representation of just how "not there yet" this Pitt Panthers team is?
If you root for the blue and gold, watch the following gif at your own risk:
That's Clemson channeling the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors from beyond the arc. The Tigers entered this game shooting 29 percent from three in conference play (and 31 percent overall) but tonight? Tonight, the floodgates were opened from the jump. They finished 13 for 22 (59 percent) from deep, a ridiculous, improbable, unrealistic, impossible clip.
I'm not just piling on adjectives here to try to be like Stephen A. Smith, friends. This kind of shooting just doesn't happen. Even Clemson's own coach, Brad Brownell, admitted it when I posed a question after the game:
"These games are ... they don't always have a lot of reason," Brownell began. "I mean, it's kind of a bad-luck thing for Jeff and those guys that we shoot this well. We’ve had a lot of good shots in other games, and we don’t make any of them. We’ve had guys on other teams that shoot great against us and we watch them the next day and they can’t make a shot. Sometimes there’s just no rhyme or reason for it. Sometimes it’s just, guys get in a good place and your team starts making a couple and it gets a little bit contagious.”
Tonight, it was a full-blown viral infection possessing these Tigers. Al-Amir Dawes sunk 4 of 7 attempts from deep, while Tevin Mack went 3 for 3. Freshman Alex Hemenway got in on the action, too, going 2 for 2. In all, seven different Tigers made at least one three. Sure, there are adjustments Pitt could've made defensively:
"It was some breakdowns defensively, allowing middle penetration, which forces help," Capel was saying of his opponent's hot shooting. "They made a lot of shots, obviously, but I do think a lot of it had to do with breakdowns in our defense."
But ultimately:
"They executed. Look … they played really well, so we should really congratulate them. They did a lot of good things," Capel finished.
It's nice to be able to explain away a loss, to drill down into those finer points and say, "A-ha! That's what they should've done!"
But you just can't do that with this one. Pitt got slapped around from start to finish at both ends of the court Wednesday night. Aamir Simms bullied them in the paint for 12 points, four rebounds and five assists, while the rest of the Tigers struck early and often.
"They just came out hungry, ready to play, because they just came off a three-game losing streak," Champagnie was saying. " ... We came out here a little bit lackadaisical and just going through the motions, and it came back and it hurt."
"Like, this kills me," Capel said. "I won’t sleep tonight."
Sorry about the timing of it all, Mr. Capel. Forty-four can only get better from here.
• All that negativity concerning Pitt's performance aside, there was a really cool moment pregame when the Oakland Zoo broke out into song just before tipoff, wishing Capel "Happy Birthday."
This was a delicate subject, given the mood in the room, but Capel delivered when I asked him about it:
"It was cool. It was cool," Capel began. "It was a little bit embarrassing. I don't like attention. I don't. I never have. And for me, I'm appreciative. I'm grateful. They were awesome. But for me, I had my time as a player, man. This is about these guys. I want everything to be about our guys. But it was cool. I'm really grateful for it."
• I can't stress this enough: The entire team was just off tonight. At both ends. Perfect example: Usually, Pitt provides us a link to a mashup of highlights (all in favor of the Panthers) after games. This time? Nope. No highlights. Now, the ACC Network still provides a highlight reel, and you can get that below, but there are two positive plays for Pitt in it: A falling-down McGowens layup early and a late, sloppy layup from Hamilton. That's it. This was genuinely just one of those games for the home team.
Horrible all around.
That said, many will point to the play of Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens, fair game when you're talking about the team's leaders. They went a combined 2 for 20 Wednesday, registering 15 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 turnovers combined.
That just won't cut it, especially when you factor in Johnson's 8-for-10 performance from the free-throw line making up more than half of the scoring. The two sophomore guards tried and tried and tried, but they just couldn't crack Clemson's defense. Credit the opposition, no doubt, but those two have to be better moving forward.
• Clemson's 13 threes were the most allowed by Pitt on the year.
• Ryan Murphy returned after missing the last three games with a concussion, logging 16 scoreless minutes but contributing two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
"I thought he gave us some good minutes," Capel said of Murphy. "Obviously, he was incredibly rusty. He just got cleared for contact yesterday, and the day before a game we don’t really do much contact. And so the game was actually the first time he’s gone up and down with contact.”
• Champagnie's now scored in double figures 17 times this season, the sixth-most by a Pitt freshman in the program's history.
• McGowens and Johnson, despite their performances tonight, made some program history, too. McGowens has 700 points in 58 games, moving into 12th all-time in points through a sophomore season. Johnson, meanwhile, topped 800 and settled at 807 by the final buzzer. He's the fourth Pitt Panther to top that 800-point mark as a sophomore.
• Building stats like that is easier when you never miss a start ... which Johnson hasn't since arriving on campus. That's now 58 starts in 58 opportunities for him.
• Clemson built a 32-24 halftime lead, forcing Pitt to play from behind in the second half for the 12th time this season. They're 4-8 in those games.
• Pitt's now 15-10 and 6-8 in ACC play this year with seven games remaining. After taking two of their last three, this home game seemed like the perfect time to fuel the "tournament-bound" narrative.
Whoops.
• Clemson shot the ball at a ridiculous clip, as outlined above, joining Miami as one of two teams to shoot 50 percent or better against the Panthers in 2019-20. They shot exactly 50 percent (22 for 44) in this one.
• Eric Hamilton went down late with an apparent ankle/lower leg injury. And fittingly with this game, it was completely weird and unnecessary. Hamilton got loose for a big, two-handed slam and hung on the rim for just a moment while a few players passed below him. When he dropped, he landed on the ball, causing the injury. Hamilton remained on the ground for a few moments before gingerly walking back the tunnel with help from his teammates and athletic trainers. Capel had no update on Hamilton's status in his post-game interview.
• Hey: Breathe. I've seen a lot of reactionary posts, tweets, comments, etc. after this one. It was terrible for Pitt. But they've done some nice things this year, too. One bad game does not a season make. Say it again.
One bad game does not a season make.
OK, good. We're done here.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE STARTING LINEUPS
For Capel's Panthers:
Xavier Johnson, guard
Trey McGowens, guard
Au'Diese Toney, guard
Justin Champagnie, forward
Terrell Brown, center
And for Brownell's Tigers:
Al-Amir Dawes, guard
John Newman III, guard
Tevin Mack, guard
Clyde Trapp, guard
Aamir Simms, forward
THE SCHEDULE
Pitt hits the road to face Virginia Tech (14-10, 5-8 ACC) for a 6 p.m. tip on Saturday, Feb. 15. I'm heading to Blacksburg, Va., for all the coverage.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our team page for everything.
